Chapter 18 - The Victory That Wasn't
When the lender informed Mara that it would cooperate in correcting the disputed title record, I felt relief for the first time in weeks.
The bank also provisionally credited part of the disputed withdrawals while the investigation continued, subject to its terms and findings.
Nothing was completely over.
But the house was no longer slipping away without a fight.
Paige's attorney helped her understand the guarantee and prepare for the consequences of her own signatures.
Brett moved out after a bitter argument, taking two suitcases and leaving the nursery half assembled.
Linda called him a coward.
Gene called him a traitor.
Neither acknowledged that Brett had joined a scheme they had encouraged.
On a rainy afternoon, my mother approached me in the front hall.
"If we can start over," she said, "perhaps you can let us stay until after the baby comes."
The request almost sounded reasonable.
Then she added, "And naturally you'll stop cooperating with this investigation."
I stared at her.
"You still think shelter is something you can trade for my silence."
She began to cry.
"I don't know what else you want."
"The truth."
Her tears stopped.
"You'll never be satisfied."
That evening, I learned Gene had filed a statement in the civil dispute claiming Grandpa intended the house to be held for the entire family and that my ownership was only nominal.
It was an attempt to recast Grandpa's clear documents as a misunderstanding.
Attached was a typed letter purporting to come from Grandpa shortly before he died.
It did not resemble his writing style.
It carried no original signature.
And it referred to a home renovation that occurred two years after his death.
I showed Mara the date.
She exhaled.
"If that's what they intend to rely on, we can address it with the actual records."
I should have been relieved.
Instead I felt a new dread.
Gene had now put a questionable account into a legal proceeding.
He wasn't retreating.
He was doubling down where the consequences were greater.
At midnight, Paige knocked on the basement door.
"Dad says tomorrow he's telling everyone your grandfather wanted the house sold," she whispered.
"He can say whatever he wants."
She shook her head.
May you like
"He says he's bringing a witness."
